Remember that old joke "if you smoke after sex, you’re going too fast." Apparently, if you go way too fast, your penis will vaporize.
Category: Touchy Subjects
The things that should never be discussed much less published by non-professionals.
Some thank yous are in order
First, I want to thank Carmen, Matt, Gabe and Abby for the wonderful birthday card and gift. I laughed. I cried. I plan to frame it!
I need thank those of you who answered my undignified desperate plea. I felt like I was on a telethon when I saw the responses! Feel like I should put a thermometer up showing where we are and the goal. You aid is being very helpful! We still have some uncomfortable decisions to make but at least we now have the option of making decisions. Thank you again! I will make it come around.
Blogs are for begging
I was trying not to go here. There is a donation button in the sidebar. If anyone were ever feeling particularly generous, this is a good time to hit that button. If you do, attach a note:
- Get a real job then give me my money back.
- Donate this amount to another blogger in need as soon as you can.
- Interest! I say Interest!
- Keep it freeloader, but stop being a burden to society.
- My favorite charity is _____. Give it to them when you can.
Help is available but that becomes your job
We have power until Monday on a technicality. Apparently, so many people are getting their power cut off that the crew cannot get to us until Monday.
So there are organizations that try to help people through the difficult times but they have large, time consuming hoops to jump through. So your entire day becomes making phone calls, and visiting their offices with paperwork and more paperwork. So in the end, you may or may not get help and are exhausted having completed none of your real work. Guess I’ll program tonight while the world sleeps. Thank goodness I am not out of coffee.
I am tickled to learn about these services. Whether or not I end up using them is yet to be determined but when I am able, you can bet I’ll be donating to them!
Answer to How do the poor eat?
I seem to have forgotten part of my post on "How do the poor eat?" There are many ways. One is FISH. By calling 865-523-7900 you are automatically directed to a participating organization (typically a church). FISH only asks the number of adults and the number of children in your household. They ask nothing of your situation. They like it when you can pickup but they will deliver. What do they deliver? One to three days worth of food and some dry goods such as soap.
Volunteer or contribute by calling 865-691-9174.
Child Labor is Ok!
So I pop over to Craig’s List to see if anyone in Knoxville posts jobs that pay rapidly and I find this one:
…That consists of taking the supplied directory and placing it into a supplied bag, double tying said bag shut and stacking the completed directory onto a skid.
You will be working primarily unsupervised in a storage unit/miniature warehouse near the Knoxville Zoo. This is an unheated indoor location; therefore you are advised to dress for the weather, it may be chilly in the mornings. … We pay $20.00 per completed skid.
Each skid holds about 400 books so if it takes you 15 seconds to pickup, bag, double-tie and place a bookdown you are looking at 4 books a minute so roughly an hour and a half or two for $20. Now this is my favorite part:
While you are welcome to bring your kids to help you, at least one person must be of majority age. Additionally, in such an arrangement, your kids work for you and not us, therefore you are responsible for paying them for helping you. We will pay the adult who responds to this ad.
It saddens a little to see this because with the cash flow issues I have endured as an independent contractor, I can see how a family would need to submit to such a job just to put food on the table. It is a shame that this company does not pay on the day of work but instead holds the money for a week and a half. I hope that I never have to tell the kids, "today for fun we are going to stand on our feet for 8 hours and shove telephone books into plastic bags." Life certainly has humbled me enough to understand that the poor are not given much opportunity to rise from their circumstances.
Explaining the Death of Habeas Corpus
Keith Olbermann brings it home again in "Why does habeas corpus hate America?" Watch the video to understand the historic decision your congress made.
Monroe County Thanks You
I spoke with the Red Cross last night regarding the Monroe County family with the blind mother and 5 children that lost their home to fire. The children are ages 3-16. The fire occurred on the 16 year old’s birthday. They are looking for clothing in the following sizes: size 4 boy, girls size 6 and 8, boys size 14 and 16. The Monroe County Red Cross, unlike the Knoxville Red Cross, is self-supported through their own fund raising and donations. They have been very surprised by the community response from outside of Monroe County.
Yesterday someone donated 6 beds. The Red Cross gave them backpacks with some coloring books, toys, etc. They have been given a television and vcr and a vhs library of movies. Today they are hoping to arrange housing that is not a motel. I am not sure what else they have received.
If you want to help, call the help line at (423) 337-9011.
Be a Patriot – Challenge Your Leaders
"Blind faith in bad leaders is not patriotism."
A patriot does not tell people who are intensely concerned about their country to just sit down and be quiet; to refrain from speaking out in the name of politeness or for the sake of being a good host; to show slavish, blind obedience and deference to a dishonest, war-mongering, human-rights-violating President.
That is not a patriot. Rather, that person is a sycophant. That person is a member of a frightening culture of obedience–a culture where falling in line with authority is more important than choosing what is right, even if it is not easy, safe, or popular. And, I suspect, that person is afraid–afraid we are right, afraid of the truth (even to the point of denying it), afraid he or she has put in with an oppressive, inhumane regime that does not respect the laws and traditions of our country, and that history will rank as the worst presidency our nation has ever had to endure.
[Source]
"Blind faith in your leaders will get you killed" -Bruce Springsteen
Today’s Political Video
We all know that Google has now purchased YouTube.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., October 9, 2006 – Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced today that it has agreed to acquire YouTube, the consumer media company for people to watch and share original videos through a Web experience, for $1.65 billion in a stock-for-stock transaction. Following the acquisition, YouTube will operate independently to preserve its successful brand and passionate community. [Source]
There’s some CYA! "Yes, we own them but they operate independently so you can’t touch our bank accounts with your lawsuits!" Of course, some questions remain unanswered. If you fear the transition to Google, you can use other services like Dailymotion. So, while you still can, watch Jon Stewart on Bush speeches. The best part of this video starts at 3:33.
An interest tidbit for you Daily Show lovers. The theme song is performed by none other than They Might Be Giants. The original theme song is "Dog on Fire" by Bob Mould.
Hot Pants! Lee Can Sell Down Under (but not North America)
Well now, if you are in Australia (Tim), you can buy these pants. If you are in America, you had better not click that link from work!
Lee Jeans’ controversial “Lolita” ad poster for spring-summer 2006 has been found acceptable by the Advertising Standards Board.
…
“The board (notes) that the woman is over 18, is fully clothed in attire that is fashionable amongst young women for summer, and that there is no nudity,” its determination said.“The board also (notes) that consumption of this style of lollipop is now common amongst people over 18.”
[Source – probably NSFW]
What nipple?
Update: Search Flickr for "Lee Jeans Lolita to see more. These pictures show how the American version will have the hint of nipple removed.
Quiet Down Class – Don’t Make Me Shoot My Gun!
Ah! Our reactive society thinks throwing guns at the teachers is going to make our schools safer. Ok. Maybe it will. At what cost? Our future is in the schools now. I am already disturbed by the overwhelming influence that the schools have on the upbringing of our children. I mean, for the bulk of their day we place the development of a human being – morals, ethics, beliefs, integrity, etc – into the hands of burnt out strangers or naive youth. What message are we communicating to the students when suddenly every adult in the school has a sidearm? Either a) we don’t trust you or b) you can’t trust the world. Regardless, we are bringing up our children to not trust and to believe that it is better to unquestionably close ourselves off (ie. lose liberties) in the name of safety. When we are pinching pennies in our retirement homes, what decisions will our youth be making for us as our political leaders?
I am not saying that arming teachers is wrong. Maybe it is necessary. But make it a responsive decision as opposed to a reactive decision. Respond by weighing pros and cons. You know, our airlines would be safer if we instituted strip searches and body cavity searches on ever passenger then sent them naked with their sore orafices to their cold seats. But that is not going to happen is it?
7.7 Earthquake to hit Knoxville on June 19, 2007
Welcome new readers! Please consider adding the Reality Me feed to your favorite news reader. You can follow me on Twitter @djuggler. I also highly recommend reading Domestic Psychology.
Mark your calendars! The New Madrid fault line will slip! "Southern Illinois, southeast Missouri, western Kentucky and northwest Tennessee would be among the hardest hit areas." The last time the New Madrid (1812) slipped the Mississippi River flowed backwards (see map showing waterfalls) creating Reelfoot Lake (Eagle Cam and history and info) and rung church bells in Richmond, Virginia and Boston, Massachusetts.
The probability of magnitude 6.0 or greater in the near future is considered significant; a 90% chance of such an earthquake by the year 2040 has been given. [Source]
Memphis could very well be the next Katrina! So, how do I know that a 7.7 will hit on June 19, 2007?
A mock earthquake – drill – June 19, 2007 will register a magnitude of 7.7 and last 34 seconds, encompassing the entire New Madrid area. Southern Illinois, southeast Missouri, western Kentucky and northwest Tennessee would be among the hardest hit areas. [Source]
The Associated Press released these details of the drill on August 18, 2006.
Kevin Turner of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Paducah (images) and the Honeywell International Plant in Metropolis, Ill., (links) which produces uranium hexaflouride, are both near the fault line.
Each could produce devastating fallout in a major earthquake… [Source]
Check out all the recent activity in East TN! A previous blog entry regarding New Madrid.
I haven’t chimed in on Foley yet
I am not certain that I have made a strong enough effort to introduce many of you to Ze Frank. After losing, Amanda (ie. the Rocketboom fiasco), I more or less turned my daily 3 minutes of "I’ll watch anything" to Ze Frank’s The Show. My standard disclaimer is that Ze Frank is very bright but uses some language that might not be appropriate in certain settings – maybe not quite Red Fox but definitely not Bill Cosby.
All that aside, I think today Ze Frank pretty much summed up the Foley stuff. Push play and see for yourself.
United States Empire … and broke its crown
I find it difficult not to write about politics in these times. Our government is changing and I fear our grandchildren may never understand or relate to the America we knew as children. There is a Roman parallel to 9/11. In 68 or 67 BC, the Roman port at Ostia was sacked.
IN the autumn of 68 B.C. the world’s only military superpower was dealt a profound psychological blow by a daring terrorist attack on its very heart. Rome’s port at Ostia was set on fire, the consular war fleet destroyed, and two prominent senators, together with their bodyguards and staff, kidnapped.
…
For in the panicky aftermath of the attack, the Roman people made decisions that set them on the path to the destruction of their Constitution, their democracy and their liberty. One cannot help wondering if history is repeating itself.
[Source]
My most recent reference to 1984 comes with the death of habeas corpus. Now the question: Are you awake?
More Ostia with great pictures. I want to visit!
